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Log In 21:09 懿月三蓝周 End of the 1424 Yìyuè festival season Today marks the last day of the 1424 Yìyuè celebrations across Sekiya and other starist-aligned nations. For those of you living under a rock, the Yìyuè festival spans the second week of Sekiya's 11th month, Yìyuè. The festival celebrates the supposed birth of Kang, the founder of the starist church. Kang was born on Hǔzhōu, and this is the day that the majority of celebrations take place. This day, second only to the Sekiyan New Year, is the day in which the most fireworks are set off on any day in Sekiya! This year set a new record, with a 48 minute long fireworks display in Xingyuan, the longest ever in Sekiya. The week is considered Sekiya's national holiday. During the week, all schools are closed, and many businesses and shops are closed or open for half a day. Due to this, several other events have been tied into the week. As Yìyuè is also the month dedicated to the diety of Justice, Sekiya's shrines and temples are packed throughout the entire week, as tens of millions across the country seek to improve their standings with the gods, to ensure good dreams throughout Mèngyuè, next month. In this article, we will be covering the traditional week of the Yìyuè Festival. A note for our non-Sekiyan readers: The Sekiyan calendar is very different to the Markan Calendar! Instead of 12 months of varying lengths, the Sekiyan Calendar has 13 months, each with 30 days spread across 4 weeks, except for the 7th month, Yángyuè, which has an extra day as a national holiday on the Sekiyan solstice! The Sekiyan days of the week are Fěnzhōu, Gànzhōu, Lánzhōu, Cuìzhōu, Huángzhōu, Hǔzhōu and Chìzhōu, with Fěnzhōu and Gànzhōu being the two days of the week considered as the 'weekend'. In Sekiya, dates aren't typically written as the number of a month (I.e '20th Yiyue'), instead dates are written as the week and the day (I.e '2 Fěnzhōu' - aka 'Week 2, Fěnzhōu'). 2 Fěnzhōu (7 Apr) & 2 Gànzhōu (8 Apr) Whilst the fesitval hasn't officially started yet, typically people spend these days with their families and preparing stalls and food for the upcoming week. 2 Lánzhōu (9 Apr) 2 Lánzhōu is considered the first day of festivities, and is the day that most festival stalls will open. The majority of all towns and cities will have a 'festival area', with food stalls, gift stalls, outdoor games, and other recreation. 2 Cuìzhōu (10 Apr) On 2 Cuìzhōu, the festivities from the previous day continue. Mainly, people on this day will be worrying about preparing for the next two days of the festival, however on the early evening, cities and big towns will have a precession through the streets, composed of performers, dancers, musicians and other moving displays. 2 Huángzhōu (11 Apr) On 2 Huángzhōu, families tend to have their biggest meal of the year. Traditionally, families will have a 13 course meal, spread across the entire day, from breakfast to bedtime. Different parts of the meal are prepared by different people within the family, and often, neighboring smaller families may join together to share a bigger meal. The tradition of this feast comes from the idea that the population of the country should be well fed and energised in preparation for Kang's birthday. 2 Hǔzhōu (12 Apr) 3 Hǔzhōu is the day that Kang was born, and Sekiya's national day, thus making it the most important day of the week. Many spend the day preparing for the evenings celebrations and attenting to festival stalls. In the evening, the stalls close for around an hour, for the crowds to watch the firework displays. It is said that each year on Kang's birthday, there is a chance that they will be reborn, and so cities and towns host firework displays so that it can be hoped that Kang will be able to find Sekiya and return. 2 Chìzhōu (13 Apr) 3 Chìzhōu is generally a day of rest, however many festival activities will carry over, such as the food stalls, outdoor games etc. for those that missed them. In the evening, to draw an end to the week, many people will attend a viewing of one of Sekiya's many traditional plays. These are done often by Schools, Amatuer theatre groups and professional theatre groups. These plays are between 20-30 minutes long, and are typically based on ancient literatary works in Sekiya, and feature storytelling, music and dance. One of the popular stories told through play, written around a millenia ago in Sekiya, tells the tale of a young scholar on their journey to the Sekiyan capital to find greatness. Along the way, the scholar encounters a diverse array of people that challenge his original views on life, teaching him the importance of society, family and home. Upon reaching the capital, the scholar meets the emperor and is offered a position in the imperial court, however the scholar refuses, deciding that his place is instead back at his home village with his family. The play is unique in that the main character in the story is ambiguous, perhaps intended to allow the reader/watcher to fill the shoes of the protagonist. The tale is by far the most acted play in Sekiya. 3 Fěnzhōu (14 Apr) & 3 Gànzhōu (15 Apr) Whilst the holiday is at this point, officially over, 3 Fěnzhōu and 3 Gànzhōu are not typically working days in Sekiya, meaning many people have these days off! Across these days, there is a big effort into the cleanup of the Yìyuè festival. Additionally, as the 'last chance' before returning to work, many will take one last visit to a shrine or a temple. There is also lots of charitable work done on these days. 3 Lánzhōu (16 Apr) 3 Lánzhōu marks the first day back to work and school for Sekiyans. With less than 2 months to go until the Sekiyan new year, students and workers alike will find the next several weeks to go quickly in the lead up to Sekiya's next big festival week.